A Very Low Level Perceptual Filter
by Glowing Fish
Summary: The Doctor and Martha Jones find a peaceful world to rest on. Then, 10 minutes later, they are caught up in the war between the Great Rebellion and the Horde.
1. Chapter 1

The Doctor and Martha Jones stepped out of the Tardis, and were pleasantly surprised by what they found. They were in the middle of a multi-colored forest, filled with softly flittering butterflies, and a nice earthy smell around them.

And there were no demonic monsters or flesh eating virus or imminent threats of destruction.

"Well, Doctor, we haven't had a break for a while, so lets just stretch our legs and stop to smell the flowers." Martha suggested.

The Doctor was usually one for adventure, but he certainly did like to smell flowers as well, and so the two of them idly walked around the forest, looking at the strange flora and occasional fauna. It gave them both a chance to think. Martha hadn't thought, for a few days, of just how odd her adventures with The Doctor were, and now the oddity of what had interrupted her life as a medical student came rushing back. As for The Doctor, what he thought of...well, no one really knows, do they?

But what people do know is that The Doctor is the oncoming storm, so when exactly ten minutes into their idle stroll, laser beams and smoke came crashing through the forest, and a group of small purple humanoids ran in fear past The Doctor and Martha.

"Business as usual, I guess" Martha said.

"Business as usual" The Doctor agreed, taking out his sonic screwdriver. And it came in handy, because a second later, a group of robots ran into the clearing. They were clunky looking, but dangerous, with a bat insignia etched upon their chests. The Doctor cycled through the settings on his Sonic Screwdriver, finally finding one that brought the robots to a screeching halt.

A moment later, something more human came into view. Although neither The Doctor or Martha were sure if it was exactly human, but they had learned to not be too picky in such matters.

The woman's voice came out in a rough growl that made them suspect that she wasn't human.

"Rrroowwwr! Are you helping The Great Rebellion?" she challenged The Doctor and Martha.

"Us no?" Martha answered.

"Just out for a nice stroll."

"Yes, just out for a stroll, Miss..."

"I ammm Forrrce Commandderrr Catra of the Horde!"

"Ah, yes, of course." The Doctor answered.

While they were conversing, a Scorpion shaped tank drove up, and a woman jumped out. Much like Catra, she was humanoid with a few twists.

"You must be Scorpia" Martha Jones said, smiling.

"Yesss" the woman said with a hiss. "How did you know?"

"Oh, just a hunch." Martha answered.

"These trrrraitorrrs deny knowing about the Grrreat Rebellion" Catra complained.

"Oh, I don't, but I do know a thing or two about rebellions." The Doctor said cheerily. And I know about people who use weapons and technology and don't look at the forest around them."

"What do you know!" Catra demanded.

"What you are about to know in an instant!" The Doctor smiled.

The two women look puzzled, but a second later, they realized what he meant when a lasso caught Catra and a bolo fired from a bow captured Scorpia. Three people strode into view, a tall blond woman holding a lasso, a red haired man with a bow and arrow wearing an extravagent costume, and an unarmed, purple haired woman.

"Hello friends! I am She-Ra" the blond woman said. "And these are Bow and Glimmer"

"And this is your...Great Rebellion?" Asked Martha, looking over the three smiling, attractive people.

"That is what we call ourselves. And who are you?"

"I am The Doctor. And this is Martha."

"Well, I guess it is time to bring these two back to..." As She-Ra spoke, but as she spoke, her lasso was undone, and Bow's rope broke, and the two women ran away, Scorpia jumping into her tank and racing away, and Catra dodging through the trees.

"Should we, um, do something about them escaping?" Martha asked.

"They are gone now. But we saved the Twiggets."

"Ah, the little people we saw running." The Doctors face turned to a more serious expression. "Were there many casualties?"

She-Ra looked blankly. "Casualties?"

The Doctor looked a bit exasperated. "Well, yes. There is a mechanized group of tyranical warriors bulldozing through a small forest village of frail creatures. So was anyone hurt?"

Bow replied with a chuckle: "Oh no, not this time. Or, um, the last time. Or, well...not for a while. I did break one of my best harps, though. That nasty Horde!"

The Doctor and Martha exchanged looks.


	2. Chapter 2

Several hours later, The Doctor and Martha Jones were enjoying a feast in the Twigget village, with Glimmer and Bow. She-Ra had disappeared, and Bow was playing the harp, while Glimmer tried to explain the history of the great rebellion. Martha was trying to keep notes, although the story seemed hard to follow. The Doctor was nodding with great interest, but The Doctor was always interested in everything.

Mid-explanation, She-Ra returned, only this time with slightly different clothing.

"Oh hello" Martha said, warmly "We were waiting for you to come back."

"Come back" She-Ra asked, arching an eyebrow, "I haven't met you, I am Adora."

Martha blinked, wondering why She-Ra was pretending to be someone else. "But..."

The Doctor shushed Martha with his eyes,

"Pleased to meet you Adora, your friend Glimmer was just catching me up on the news of the Great Rebellion, and I am very impressed by the bravery of your people."

Adora smiled at The Doctor.

"Glimmer, could you come with me? We have plans for the rebuilding of the Twigget Village to discuss."

Glimmer and Adora left, their high heels clinking on the banquet hall.

"Doctor...that was She-Ra. Calling herself 'Adora'."

"Yes...I've heard other people around us, talking about them as if they were separate people."

"How can they believe such a thing?"

"Well, I would say...either a very, very low level perceptual filter, or they are very, very thick."

"And that isn't the only thing odd about this..."

"You mean Bow's outfit?" The Doctor's gaze took in the form of Bow, still wearing his abdomen-baring outfit and bright red cape, as he strummed his harp. "Too bad Captain Jack isn't here. Well, actually, too good might be a better term..."

"Captain Who..?"

"Oh, friend of mine. You'll probably meet him one of these days."

"Well, yes, I did get the feeling that Bow might be into... musical theater, but that wasn't what I was mentioning. I know enough about medicine to know that in a war zone, there are dozens of injuries, small injuries, mental and physical that would be showing up everywhere. But these people...no scars, no signs of broken bones, and really, no signs of emotional trauma. People who have seen war usually have signs. These people don't."

"People show there scars in different ways. And this is a different dimension. Different rules." The Doctor's eyes took on the distant focus that Martha had recognized as a sign that memories of the great war he sometimes mentioned were surfacing.

"So are you telling me that you don't think anything is wrong with what is going on here."

Just at that moment, a great roar was heard outside, and Bow, belying the artistic temperament he had been showing for the past hour or so, put down his harp and picked up his eponymous weapon to rush outside. The Doctor and Martha rushed out with the rest. Bow was screaming: "IT IS GRIZZLOR! WITH A DESTRUCTO-CANNON".

She-Ra (they supposed she must be, since she was back in her fancier outfit) was flying by on a  
>flying unicorn.<p>

The Doctor took out his sonic screwdriver, looked at it, and then put it back in his pocket.

"I could do readings on the temporal isometry...but I think I know a simpler method. Want to go for a stroll, Miss Jones" The Doctor said, and taking Martha's hand, the two of them walked across the town square, which was saturated by the robot's laser blasts, as well as who must be Grizzlor, wildly firing his "Destructo-Cannon"

"We seem to be unharmed" Martha said, arching an eyebrow.

"This world, this entire dimension, is in a state of Temporal Grace."

"That's a new one to me."

"And to me, or at least I haven't seen it for a very long while. Things can happen here, but no one will ever get hurt, and whichever side 'wins' this battle...we will be back to the same situation the next day."

"That sounds...almost...appealing." Martha said.

"Yes...I could live here, be a great hero, fight against tyranny, come up with any number of clever plans to diffuse the situation at the last moment. And...everyone would always turn out fine. I wouldn't have to worry about anyone getting hurt. Kind of tempting, isn't it?"

"Don't lie to yourself, Doctor, you would get bored here in a week, and you would feel guilty about the rest of space-time that you were failing to meddle in."

"You know me well, Martha. Should we make our way back to the TARDIS?"

"I think we shall, and we will just have to guess about how no one knows that Adora is She-Ra, and what Bow does when he isn't playing the harp."

And so they walked off, leaving the battle behind them to reach its usual, non-violent conclusion.


End file.
